Chicken bingo, people in gorilla suits and loads of peacock feathers were just a few of the things spotted in Lafayette Square on Sunday at the third annual Flannery O’Connor Homemade Parade and Street Fair.

For the first year the lively event, which is a celebration of author and Savannah native Flannery O’Connor, took place in Lafayette Square allowing for more vendors, activities and live music by Sweet Thunder.

“The entire block party in the square is different this year. We have vintage vendors and a photographer taking pictures with the gorilla,” said Christine Sajecki, a member of the Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home board of directors and event organizer. “We’re hoping to celebrate a local write in creative ways and in community oriented ways.”

Sajecki said that while O’Connor’s childhood home greets visitors from around globe they don’t see a lot of locals and they hope this yearly event raises awareness of O’Connor and her work.

“A lot of our visitors are from Japan, Norway and China, but not a lot of people from the South or from Savannah and she’s such an important writer that we want to bring her legacy into the community.”

Visitors were encouraged to create homemade signs, dress in costumes inspired by O’Connor’s characters and sing along to live music and enjoy birthday cake after marching in the homemade parade in the square.

First-time attendees Richard Kay and Lauren Dutko, along with their 5-year-old daughter, Natallia, enjoyed the many characters roaming the square and the live music.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s been pretty cool. We got an opportunity to get our picture taken with a gorilla, so that was exciting,” Kay said.

“Hopefully Flannery would have been proud. They really keep pulling out the stops and we love the music,” Dutko said. “It’s a great interesting group of people coming out and it’s also really great for children, too. We love Flannery and I think we’ll definitely be back next year.”

ABOUT FLANNERY O’CONNOR

• Flannery O’Connor was born in Savannah in 1925. She lived at 207 E. Charlton St. until 1938.

• O’Connor was the three-time winner of the O. Henry Award and posthumous winner of the National Book Award for Fiction for The Complete Stories.

• Her most notable works are “Everything that Rises Must Converge,” “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “The Violent Bear It Away” and “Wise Blood,” which was made into a movie by the legendary director John Huston.

• Six-year-old O’Connor once taught a chicken to walk backwards in the courtyard of her Charlton Street home.

• Each year the University of Georgia Press presents the The Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction to two winners for their short stories or novellas.

ABOUT THE FLANNERY O’CONNOR CHILDHOOD HOME

The Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home is located at 207 E. Charlton St. on Lafayette Square. It is one of the few museum houses in the country that is restored to the Depression-era. The home offers a variety of free events throughout the year including a free Sunday lecture series in the spring and fall.

Hours: 1-4 p.m. Friday through Wednesday

Cost: Adults, $6; students and active military, $5; children 15 & under are free.